Defense was the calling card for the New England Patriots throughout the 2022 season, and the unit almost single-handedly carried them to the Promised Land.
The fact that they still had a fighting chance of punching their ticket to the postseason dance in the regular season finale is testament to that statement. New England set a franchise record and led the league with seven turnovers returned for touchdowns.
Opposing teams may not have feared the offense, but they knew they had a fight on their hands when lining up across from coach Bill Belichick’s defense.
Linebacker Matthew Judon went from star to superstar, and Josh Uche started living up to his elite potential. Even rookies corners Marcus Jones and Jack Jones were heavily involved and productive on the defensive side of the ball. Also, the incredible pairing of safeties Devin McCourty and Kyle Dugger on the backend was like something out of a quarterback’s nightmares.
Here are the top 10 highest-graded Patriots defensive players, according to Pro Football Focus.
10. Devin McCourty
Grade: 70.0
9. Jahlani Tavai
Grade: 73.5
7T. Adrian Phillips
Grade: 73.6
7T. Matthew Judon
Grade: 73.6
6. Jack Jones
Grade: 74.7
5. Deatrich Wise Jr.
Grade: 74.9
4. Jabrill Peppers
Grade: 75.0
3. Kyle Dugger
Grade: 78.4
2. Ja'Whaun Bentley
Grade: 79.6
1. Josh Uche
Grade: 83.1
